Music
Joe Messina
1928–2022 · guitarist
Detroit-born jazz guitarist who became one of the most prolific Funk Brothers, playing on "Dancing in the Street" and hundreds of other Motown records.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Northville, Michigan
aged 93- Birth name
- Joseph Lucian Messina
- Also known as
- the white brother with soul
- Detroit years
- 1928–2022
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Messina was born in Detroit, picked up the guitar at 13, attended Central High School and then studied music at Cass Technical High School before leaving to play professionally. From the late 1940s he worked the city's jazz clubs, and in his twenties he joined the ABC television studio band in Detroit, backing visiting stars such as Charlie Parker, Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie, including on The Soupy Sales Show. Berry Gordy recruited him in 1958 for the Hitsville studio band, where he usually played the backbeat on guitar, often doubling the snare drum. His playing is on "Dancing in the Street", "I Can't Help Myself" and "Your Precious Love". When Motown left for Los Angeles in 1972 he stayed in Detroit and put the guitar away for about 30 years, later returning to jazz and appearing in Standing in the Shadows of Motown. He died in Northville in 2022, aged 93.
Highlights
- Funk Brothers guitarist from 1958 to 1972
- Played on "Dancing in the Street" and "I Can't Help Myself"
- Earlier played in Detroit's ABC TV studio band
- Funk Brothers star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2013)
- Studied music at Cass Technical High School
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Recorded here · 1958–1972
Motown Museum
Played on Motown sessions in Studio A, the basement room the musicians nicknamed the "Snake Pit".
Studied here · 1940s
Cass Technical High School
He studied music here before leaving school to play professionally.